


between shadows and starlight

by dreamingatlast



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:33:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22095667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamingatlast/pseuds/dreamingatlast
Summary: Welcome to the wonderful torture of falling in love with Star Wars couples. We just can’t seem to get a happy ending with them, can we? So, here’s a fix-it fic following the events of the TROS (spoilers, duh!) in which Ben Solo survives because he deserves better and so do we.While the generals back at the Resistance base try to manage what’s left of the galaxy and clear Kylo Ren’s name for the sake of the last Jedi, Rey and Ben search for a place to hide out until it’s safe for them to return. But, when the galaxy goes into chaos without order and the forces of the Dark Side are present once more, Rey and the former Supreme Leader will have to rise up together with maybe, just maybe, the help of a new Jedi Order. Rey and Ben may just have to risk everything to protect each other…and, save the galaxy…again.*a small dedication for my older sister who has never once judged me for loving my fandoms and fictional characters more than real people*
Relationships: Rey & Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 12
Kudos: 59





	1. Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I feel like I've been rooting for these two since the moment they met, but, honestly, I could not indulge until I knew for certain they weren't related. Fool us once, George Lucas! I will try to stay as true to these characters as I possibly can plus a nice amount of fluff that attempts to explain all of those deep looks Kylo Ren gives Rey...you know what I'm talking about.
> 
> So, without further ado, I present to you a story from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....  
> *cue theme song*
> 
> **I don't own any of the original Star Wars characters, they belong to Disney and Lucasfilms and all those lovely superior people**

### Hope

#### REY

How strange it is that after such a brutal fight, the silence that follows is too loud. Yes, silence. It drummed in her ear like the heartbeat she was too afraid to check to see if she could hear his. Their kiss was fleeting but it held every tense moment shared between them. It held every apology. It held every surrender.

She pressed her ear to his chest. There was a weak, but steady rhythm, his chest barely rising and falling. He was alive, maybe not for much longer, but it was enough for Rey to stand. _Focus,_ she told herself. She had just survived death herself, but she needed to get them out of there. With what little strength she had left, Rey summoned the Force to lift Ben’s unconscious body into the air. She had to get them back to the X-wing. One step at a time, she climbed out of the Sith lair grateful to breathe fresh air even if it was filled with the scent of smoke and melted metal from the battle raging overhead. Anything was better than her grandfather’s rotting breath.

She willed Ben’s body to follow her. The X-wing was only made for one, but she was small enough to fit between him and the controls. There was relief in the thought of flying, of letting the controls take over the heavy lifting. It took everything she had left to get Ben seated in the cockpit. She was checking the controls before climbing in after him when he said her name. She wasn’t even sure if he had really said it or if he spoke it through their mind link, but her heart leaped. She met his eyes. Deep brown and barely open, but he was awake and he was alive and that was all that mattered to her.

“You came,” she said.

He gave her a hint of a smile. “I told you that you weren’t alone.”

“You saved my life.”

He grasped her hand weakly. “You saved mine.”

He shifted in the cockpit to make room for her and she slid in, her back up against his chest. She couldn’t ignore the line they had crossed with each other or the racing of her heart when they made contact. She knew it when they touched fingers so long ago on Ahch-To. She knew it when he killed Snoke for her and begged her to join him. She knew it when she saved him from her own lightsaber wound. The feeling was different than the Force, but it was just as powerful. It was a bond. As if everything their souls were made of connected. Like dark meeting light for the first time. It was a balance. A balance that, for a moment, she thought she’d lost. But there he was. Bruised and half alive with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

She took off.

“She’s up!” she heard Poe say through the com link.

“Do you have Finn?” she spoke back.

“I’ve got him.”

“Then let’s go home.”

She sped past the flaming Star Destroyers and joined the thousands of ships that had come to help the Resistance. She was in awe.

Ben shifted behind her. “Where did you get all these fighters?”

She glanced back at him with a sad sort of smile. “They aren’t fighters. They’re just…people. People who came to help because we gave them hope.”

“Hope?” he said in disbelief as the ships passed us heading into lightspeed.

“Yes, Ben. Hope. Your mother used to say ‘Hope is like the sun, if you only believe in it when you can see it—‘”

“‘You’ll never make it through the night,’” he finished for her.

She nodded her head then typed in the coordinates for the Resistance base and jumped to lightspeed.

Landing was easy but Rey was filled with anxiety. She had brought the leader of the First Order back with her. How would her friends react? Would they give him a chance?

She jumped out of the cockpit. “Can you walk?” she asked him.

Ben nodded. “Yes.”

But the second he put pressure on his legs they crumbled underneath him. She caught him before he fell, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She half carried, half dragged him towards the base. Ships were landing everywhere, people were cheering and hugging and being carried off to the infirmary. She spotted Poe and Finn near the Falcon, and after making sure Ben could stand on his own, she ran to them.

She was crying before she even reached the boys, and they both tackled her with a bear hug. They stayed like that for a moment and she was okay with that. She was afraid of the tension that would soon interrupt their blissful victory. She could already hear the crowd quieting as people took notice of the injured Supreme Leader.

Finn looked over her shoulder and pulled away. “What is _he_ doing here?”

Rey put a hand to his chest. “He saved my life, Finn.”

“What?” his eyes were wide.

“I died.”

“ _What_?” he said again in disbelief.

“I died and he gave me life somehow using the Force. He had come to help me take on the Sith Lord. He should be dead.” As she said it, she turned to watch Ben crumble to ground.

Immediately, she rushed to his side. His eyes had closed, his wounds broke open with fresh blood. Rey felt her face pale. “Ben?” she yelled urgently. “Ben, stay with me. I need a medic!”

Without question, a medic team came forward and put him on a stretcher. She knew the time for questions would come later and she would have to give them all answers. She also knew Ben’s fate now rested in the hands of a Resistance that no longer had his mother as general. But for now, the team would tend to him as one of their own because that was who the Resistance was. And because Rey had gained some trust with them. And, for the time being, she didn’t care. She just needed him to be alright.

Poe came up behind her as she watched them carry Ben off to the infirmary and he put his arm around her giving her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. “I don’t get it, and I'm not saying I support it, but I trust you. And I see the way you look at him. He’ll be alright, Rey.”

Finn stood on her other side and grabbed hold of her hand. “We’re with you, Rey.”

And in that moment, that was all she needed to hear. Her friends would stand by her. She just needed Ben to pull though. She was glad Poe and Finn were there to steady her because without Ben, she could already feel her small piece of balance fading like the final flicker of a dying ember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've made it this far, you're wonderful and I thank you immensely. I promise there will be a plot behind this, but I have a thing for expositions and, naturally, lots of fluff for our two favorites. They deserve some time to themselves, right? You know, so they can actually get to have a few moments together that don't result in them trying to kill each other or anyone else, right? Maybe? I don't know. 
> 
> Cheers!  
> x


	2. Be With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Ben tries to navigate the dark and whether or not he wants to fight to keep his heart beating, Rey uses their bond to try and reach him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boy. better. wake. up. amirite or amirite?
> 
> *total side note, but I am editing this with a pounding headache so I apologize in advance for any substantial errors I might've missed, thanks!*

### Be With Me

**BEN**

It was dark. Not like the back of his eyelids dark, but the kind of dark that suffocates even a sliver of light, like the pitch black of space swallowing the stars. Ben was not scared of the dark, but he was scared of being alone. He couldn’t _feel her_ anymore. And this feeling of loneliness was new for him because before Rey, alone was all he knew once the darkness took over. She was his sliver of light. The only person, besides maybe his parents, that saw the good in him. She could look past all the death and darkness of his past. She brought him to the light. And if he died here, here in this darkness, at least the memory of her skin on his, warm with blood pumping through her veins, was enough to let him go peacefully into the Force. He had given all that he had to her, to have her eyes see him one last time. It was enough to erase the grip the dark held on his heart. He was free. Without pain. He could rest now.

_Ben._

A tiny voice called to him. He turned around, but the blackness prevented him from seeing anything.

 _Ben._ It whispered in the back of his mind again. _Be with me._

He inhaled sharply. He knew that voice. He moved blindly towards the sound of it.

_Ben. Come home._

Suddenly, a pinprick of light penetrated the inky black. Ben rushed towards it. He could feel her again. Their bond hadn’t been disrupted. The light grew the closer he moved to it until he saw her figure outlined in the bright white. Her hand was outstretched to him, a small smile on her face.

He stopped a few feet away from her. He could take her hand now. _Rey._ He spoke through their bond. She said nothing, just stretched her hand out further. He reached out to her, his hand just hesitating before making contact. Did he really want to go back? Back to the mess that he had made? To the prosecution he was sure to receive? He deserved it, he knew that, but would it be more painful to be in the same place as Rey and not be with her? He could just let go here, have died saving her life.

But her smile faded as he thought this and she spoke again. _It’s okay, Ben. We’ll figure this out. Be with me._

That was enough. She was worth it. Over and over again, she was worth it. He closed the distance, taking her hand, and together, they walked into the light.

He blinked until the light faded and the room came into focus. He was in a small room, isolated. Medical equipment was scattered on the metal tray next to the cot he was lying on. Next to him was a small wooden chair and hovering above it with her legs crossed and eyes closed was Rey. She opened her eyes as she floated back to the chair. She smiled, a real smile like the one she gave him when he had brought her back to life. It reached her hazel eyes and showed off her dimples. Her hair was still messy from the battle, her face still cut up and bloody, but he had never thought she’d looked more beautiful. “Ben,” she said.

“Rey.” His voice came out hoarse. Suddenly, all the pain from his injuries hit him like a bomb and he cringed.

Her face dropped. “I’ll get some water and someone to check on your injuries. You went through a lot back on Exogal.” She disappeared from the room. Ben took a moment to breathe. His leg was wrapped and splinted and his chest was wrapped tightly covering most his stomach, ribs, and spine. He could hear ships landing outside the room and people cheering. He sighed. The First Order may have started without Kylo Ren, but he was certainly responsible for many of the casualties on this side of the fight. And now, the same people he had hurt were healing him.

Rey came back in with a dark haired woman by her side. She held a tray of food and some water. Her face was expressionless and for that, Ben was grateful. “Ben, this is Nyla, she’s the one who cleaned and mended your injuries,” Rey explained.

He met Nyla’s eyes. “Thank you.” Nyla nodded and set the tray down. She busied her self with checking his leg.

Ben glanced at Rey. She sighed and sat back down in her chair. “Broken leg and cracked ribs are the worst of it,” she started. “It’s a wonder you got to me at all.”

He looked down at his hands. They were bruised and cut. “I couldn’t feel you anymore. I could only think to climb.”

She tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “You brought me back.”

He rolled his head to face her better. “You brought me to the light again, Rey. I was fully prepared to die to bring you back.” Nyla looked up from her work at this. Ben grunted as she accidentally bumped his leg.

“Sorry,” she mumbled before returning to cleaning and re-wrapping his wound.

Ben kept his eyes locked on Rey. “I’d do it again. This Resistance needs you. Especially with all the damage control caused by me. I’d be better off dead. No one needs me. In fact, I’m sure I’ll be dead as soon as I get out of here. Killed for my crimes.”

“You’re wrong,” Rey said, her eyes watered but she blinked back any threat of tears. “I need you. But the Resistance is not thrilled I brought you back. Leia bought us a little time to figure things out. They respected her, loved her. You’re her son. They won't vote for your execution or imprisonment immediately. Hopefully, they never will. Leia never lost faith in you. In time, they will see that. But we can talk about what we will do next after you get some of your energy back. For now,” she leaned over and brushed a strand of his dark hair off his forehead, “get some rest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking around! If you're concerned about Ben's future just know, Rey's got a plan...ish:) The chapters will get longer as the story develops, but I didn't want to overwhelm ya'll with too much in the beginning. 
> 
> Cheers!  
> x


	3. Tatooine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey struggles with how to protect Ben from an unwelcoming Resistance. She leans on her two best friends for help.

### Tatooine

**REY**

Nyla finished changing Ben’s bandages before meeting Rey in the hall.

“Is it true?” she asked Rey. Rey sighed before grabbing Nyla’s hand. She transferred the memories from the Sith lair to her. Ben rushing in to help her, their struggle against Palpatine, Ben getting thrown off into the pit, him crawling out to reach her lifeless form, Ben holding her, and finally, him transferring his life to hers. She pulled out of the memories and Nyla gasped, her gray eyes wide. “Y-you have to show the generals that. You died!”

Rey looked down. “They know, not all of it, but they know that he brought me back. It’ll take a lot more than that final battle for people to be satisfied. They’ll want justice for his crimes.”

“But he’s changed. Just like Leia knew he would.” Nyla looked genuinely concerned for him.

Rey put her face in her hands. “It’s not that simple, Nyla. I have to protect him and he’s not safe here. For the time being, maybe, but other war criminals will serve their time when the Resistance goes out in search for any remaining First Order loyalists. They will want Kylo Ren most of all. He’s not that anymore, but I’ve always known that. He just needed someone to pull him out of the dark. I’ve got to keep him safe, he’s earned that much.”

Nyla paused for a moment. “You love him.” She said it as more of a statement than a question and the phrase sent a shiver down Rey’s spine.

“Love is dangerous for a Jedi.”

“But you do.”

Rey averted the conversation. “I have to meet with the generals. Try and manage this as best I can. Will you watch over him for me?”

“Of course,” Nyla nodded then disappeared back into Ben’s room.

When Rey was finally alone, she sank to the floor and let the tears she'd been struggling to restrain since she brought Ben to the base fall. She would do whatever she could to keep the former Supreme Leader safe, but she would have to say goodby to some of the people she loved most. She clenched her jaw, wiped her eyes and stood. She set off to find her two best friends.

“What do you mean you’re leaving?” Poe demanded. They were standing under the tent that housed all the main components that helped them plan, track, and communicate during the war. It was hard to believe that only hours before she had died.

“Poe,” Rey started, “he’s not safe here right now. You, as general, know that.” He was leaning across the metal table with both hands supporting his weight. Finn stood next to her.

“She’s right, Poe,” Finn said with a sigh. Rey looked at him. Finn was most protective of her out of everyone. She figured he’d be the one that refused to let her go.

Poe sighed, hanging his head in defeat. “I know she’s right. I just don’t understand the need to protect him so much.”

“Let me show you,” Rey said before she could change her mind about sharing her memories. But Nyla was right. They needed to see it themselves. She grabbed both their hands and shifted her memories to them. She let them see more than Nyla. The explosion, the voices of the past Jedi, the fleeting kiss between her and Ben. When it was over, the boys stared at her in shock. “I know, it’s crazy, but he and I are a dyad in the Force. I think it’s what kept him alive. We’ve been connected since I went to go find Luke. I sensed him changing then. The conflict was always present. And I know that doesn’t excuse any of his crimes, but he’s changed. Darth Vader never got a second chance. The Force granted Ben with one. Please, I beg you to see reason in this even if it’s not fair that I ask you for it.” Rey looked down. “But I just got him back. As Ben. Not Kylo Ren.”

“Okay, Rey,” Finn said after a moment. “On one condition.”

Rey nodded. “Anything.”

“You come back to us soon, once we’ve scavenged the galaxy and cleared Ben’s name. And then you train me and the others like me.”

Poe’s eyes bugged out of his head. “ _What?_ ”

Rey raised an eyebrow. “You’re Force sensitive?”

Finn nodded.

“Okay,” Rey said, not too awfully surprised by the news. “Deal.”

“ _What?_ ” Poe said again.

Finn pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her. “Be safe.” And he slipped a tracking beacon onto her wrist. “To light your way home.”

“Hello?” Poe said, “I’m general, too still!”

Rey laughed. “Quit whining, Poe.” She pulled him in for a hug. “See if you can get that kiss from Zorii for me.” She winked and turned to leave.

“Wait!” Poe called after her. “Take BB-8. You’ll need him more than I do if you’re going to be alone with Ren.” As if on cue, BB-8 rolled forward nudging her leg with a series of clicks and beeps.

Rey nodded. “Thank you.” Then she turned to pack the Falcon as BB-8 rolled behind her.

Three days later, Ben woke. Rey was by his side, reading one of the old Jedi texts.

“Rey,” he mumbled.

She looked up. “How do you feel?”

“Better. You?”

Rey's wounds had been tended to, but she still had not received much rest. Her nights were plagued by nightmares. She didn't dare tell Ben this, yet. “Better," she replied, then continued, "Nyla dropped off some fresh clothes for you. We don’t have much of a cleaning system here, but there is a tub of warm water waiting for you in the bathroom. Clean up a bit, it’ll help. Then grab whatever you need because we're taking a trip for a while. Off planet.” Ben nodded without words. Rey helped him up and walked him to the bathroom. She unwrapped his chest and leg and eased him out of his grimy black pants. He finished undressing while she turned her back, then still with eyes closed, she eased him into the tub. Without the Force, the task would’ve been much harder. Ben was twice the size of her.

He sighed, sinking lower into the water. “Call for me when you’re done and I’ll help you out.” Rey finished.

He nodded, his eyes closed. She went back into the room to continue reading. It wasn’t long after she heard a loud thud from the bathroom. Her heart seized in her chest and she sprinted into the bathroom. Ben was on his knees out of the tub.

“Ben! What the hell?” She ran to him, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around him. But he was smiling, a real smile. Rey had only seen it once and at the time, she never thought she’d see it again.

“I wanted to do it by myself, I’m Kylo Ren dammit!”

Rey grinned as she helped him up. “Even villains need help sometimes.”

He leaned on her before slipping a finger under her chin and turning it up to face him. He bent his head down and kissed her. Rey felt her body relax into his. Their last kiss was too short, too unknown with the possibility neither of them would make it out. This kiss was reassuring. There would be more because he was alive. Alive and leaning heavily against her very very naked. Her cheeks flushed as she realized the bareness of him against her. Her skin was electrified by his touch, every nerve in her being reacting to his soft kiss. It was over too soon, leaving Rey breathless as he pulled away. “Villain?” He mumbled. “I’m offended.”

Rey grinned. “Get over yourself.”

Nyla brought in a crutch for Ben to lean on before they left. Rey gave her a quick hug before they set off for the Falcon. Ben hadn’t asked many questions about why they were leaving or where they would go, but Rey assumed that, once they were safely aboard, he would. In the time Ben spent sleeping, Rey had thrown three months worth of supplies onto the ship. She had tents, bed rolls, and fresh clothes, though she regularly just washed and wore the same outfit, lots of food which Rey still wasn’t used to since she mainly lived off quarter portions back on Jakku, and her new lightsaber. She had been constructing her own during her training with Leia, but it felt right to earn Luke’s, plus her’s hadn’t been ready yet. She even brought Ben’s old lightsaber that Leia had saved for him in case he ever returned to the light. She figured he’d want it once he regained his strength. She hadn’t told him this, though, for fear it would scare him off. She knew Ben still felt the tug to the dark side, she could sense it in him, and, whereas he now fought it, she would do anything she could to prevent him from going under again.

Finn had parked the Millennium Falcon near the back of the base to avoid any unwanted eyes. He and Poe would handle the Resistance once she and Ben got out. They would try and explain the situation as best they could. Rey couldn’t have asked for more from her friends. They were blindly trusting her. She just hoped she wouldn’t let them down.

She strapped her lightsaber and Luke and Leia’s to her belt. She had a plan for those. Then, she walked out of the infirmary with Ben hobbling close behind and BB-8 rolling after them. Finn, Chewy, and Rose were waiting for them at the entrance to the Falcon.

“Got everything you’ll need?” Finn said. His voice was cool, unaffected by Ben’s presence, but not necessarily welcoming either.

Rey nodded. “Let’s hope so.”

Rose reached for her and wrapped her in a hug. “Where will you go?” she asked.

Rey shrugged then glanced at Ben. “I don’t know, maybe somewhere green.”

Chewy growled in response. She gave the old Wookie a hug. “Yes, Chewy. I promise I’ll be safe. You take care of my boys here, okay?” She told him with a soft smile. Chewy made some low noises while nodding his head. Rey then turned to Finn and handed him a small, white com link. “If you need me, or just want to talk. Don’t forget about me, General. I’ll be home before you know it.”

Finn smiled at her. “Take care of yourself, Rey. I’m expecting training when you return.” Rey felt her stomach twist as he said that. She was no Jedi master, but maybe with the help of Ben…

She hugged him and over her shoulder she heard Finn say to Ben, “You do anything to her and I will take this galaxy apart planet by planet to kill you.”

Ben reached out his hand and surprisingly, Finn shook it. “Consider me warned, General.” Neither of them smiled, but Rey could feel the mood was light around her.

She boarded the Falcon.

She inhaled deeply. This ship held a hundred memories and she could feel them all buzzing beneath her feet. Han’s ship. BB-8 made a few beeps. She looked down at him and smiled. “How do you feel about Tatooine?” she asked. The droid beeped happily in response and rolled deeper into the ship.

“Tatooine?” Ben’s deep voice came from behind her.

Rey made her way to the bridge as she answered. “Yes, I’ve got something I need to do there. We won’t stay. I’ve had enough desert to last me a lifetime, but maybe Naboo?” She shrugged. “We’ve got the whole galaxy. We’ll figure it out.” She strapped herself into the captain’s chair and brought the Falcon to life. Ben plopped down into the co-pilot’s seat.

“Naboo? I’ve got a place we could stay there.” His grin was mischievous. There was a clever little glint in his dark eyes. It was a look Rey had never seen before. She smiled to herself. How many more new looks would she see in him? There was whole side of him she had yet to uncover and she couldn’t wait to explore it. She had already seen the worst of him and still loved him through it. It could only get better from here. But, as she took off, she wondered what it would’ve looked like for them if they had met on different terms, when there was no war, no dark or light side, when he was just Ben Solo and she was just Rey from nowhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whole lot of love for our two generals. Fluff is coming your way!
> 
> Cheers!  
> x


	4. Light, in it's Most Beautiful Form

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey has a plan for the two extra lightsabers she brought with her. Ben struggles with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's just a short lil chapter diving a tad bit into Ben's mind. Chapters will get longer soon!

### Light, in it's Most Beautiful Form

**BEN**

The clothes Nyla had brought for Ben were gratefully black. A loose fitting, long sleeve black shirt and snug black pants. It wasn’t too different from what he had worn when he saved Rey, but there was no lightsaber hole, no blood or dirt, just a small blue Resistance symbol on the top right corner of it. He was glad that he wasn’t put into Resistance uniforms or tan robes. He was not ready for the immediate switch to the light. That would’ve been too much, but the Resistance symbol was a nice touch. Small enough that it wasn’t overwhelming and when Rey’s eyes had lingered on it a moment too long and smiled softly, Ben thought it was exactly the right thing to be wearing.

Rey typed in the coordinates for Tatooine and then jumped to lightspeed. They hadn’t spoken much since they had taken off. Most of their conversations had revolved around either turning each other to their side or saving each other. Ben could still vividly remember when the Force bond brought them together when Rey was on Luke’s island. The firelight had flickered across her skin making it glow. Ben remembered thinking shehad looked like starlight personified. He would’ve never admitted that out loud, of course, but, even so, that was the first conversation that had started out as just purely a conversation. She was hurting, still wondering about parents that had never come back for her. She had explained it all to him because no matter how far into the opposing sides they were, he got her like nobody else would and she understood him like nobody else could. He remembered the touch of their fingertips. It was a fleeting, soft moment. Ben had never experienced anything like it before.

Now, with her sitting just inches away from him, he wasn’t even sure what to say to her. They were on the same side now. And small talk had never really been Ben Solo’s thing. Even when he was training to be a Jedi. Interest in girls wasn’t exactly something that was praised. Being a Jedi meant being alone. He was taught that love caused distractions, but Ben now knew that wasn’t true. Love gave you something to fight for. It gave you something to die for. Rey had fought for him since the beginning, even when it didn’t make sense. And now he couldn’t think of one damned thing to say to her. There was so much he wanted to tell her. How he should’ve just gone with her after they defeated Snoke. He should’ve just helped her save the fleet and gone with her. Maybe they wouldn’t be running now if he had. But he was blinded by the dark side constantly whispering in his ear, promising a life with her ruling the galaxy if she would just take his hand. What a fool he had been. She was everything good. Everything light with her own touch of darkness which intrigued him. She was intoxicating, every word, every breath, every touch drew him in. If he wasn’t careful, he would get hurt.

The doubt started to creep in as blue streams of light shot past them as they travelled through hyper space. Would she leave him? Did she think he was worth all this? Leaving her friends and everything she had fought so hard for? What if, in time, she realized it was a mistake?

“Stop it,” Rey said suddenly. Her voice came out low but strong and he jumped as it interrupted the silence. He looked at her. Hazel eyes stared him down. He realized too late that she could still see into his mind. She spun the chair around to face him. “Let go of it, Ben,” she said. “That doubt is still the dark trying to get in. I am not going to leave you. Since I came into this war, you’ve been the one thing I’ve tried to get back and it didn’t even make sense then. And you’re absolutely infuriating, but you came home to me. That was all I ever wanted for you and now that I’ve got you, I swear on the Falcon, that I will keep you safe. You almost died, Ben.” Her voice cracked, but she took in a rattling breath and continued.“You almost died and all I could think about was how much I still wanted to share with you,” she was rambling now and Ben sat there staring at her, hanging onto every word like it was his life source. “I wanted to go back in time and take your hand over and over again if it meant you lived. But here we are, in the light and the aftermath of a messy war, together. And yes, you deserve to be smacked for what you’ve done and probably a lot worse in the eyes of the Resistance, but it will be over my dead body before I let them get to you. And—" she never finished that sentence because on instinct, Ben reached over, took her face in both his hands and kissed her. He felt her cave into his touch. He loved that he had that effect on her. She tangled her fingers in his hair and it was enough. It was enough to simply be like this with her. The Force stirred around them, light and energized as if this was what it had been waiting for. For them to connect like this. They, together, were balance. The epiphany of what the Force was intended to be. His skin buzzed with electricity and warmth. When she pulled away, her eyes looked more alive than he had ever seen them. And in the light of hyper space and the colored controls of the ship, she reminded him once more of the stars, soft and burning with endless light to shield him always from the inky black he had lived in for so long. _Starlight_ , he thought to himself with a smile. _She was light, in its most beautiful form._

~

When they landed near Luke Skywalker’s old home, Ben shivered. This was the home of his uncle. He wondered if he even had a right to be here or if Luke’s Force ghost was going to come out and whack him in the head.

His body felt immensely weak and drained. He tried to hide the pain and exhaustion from Rey, but when you literally share a bond in the Force, it’s nearly impossible to hide anything from the other.

“We’ll camp here for the night,” Rey started as she walked out of the Falcon. He hobbled after her with BB-8 close on his heels. “There’s a place to sleep on the Falcon if you’re weird about staying in Luke’s old home.”

Ben sighed. “Let’s just check it out first. Make sure we can even stay here. You don’t know what lurks on Tatooine.”

Rey grinned. “Nothing I can’t handle. You look dead on your feet, why don’t you rest on the Falcon for a bit. There’s something I need to take care of here anyway,” she said. Ben hesitated. He wasn’t sure he wanted her to go in alone, but she put a hand to his chest. “I’ll take BB-8 if that’ll make you feel better, but I doubt anything exciting will happen. Now, go sleep, and that’s an order.”

He grinned. “Last time I checked, you were not general.”

She looked back over her shoulder as she shouldered her staff. “No, of course not,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m a Jedi.” Then she winked. She actually winked before turning and walking towards the hut, and Ben thought he felt his heart stop. He wasn’t used to this playful banter or simply just being at ease with her, but he had to admit, he was definitely okay with it. Maybe, he could finally just be the Ben he never really got the chance to be. She was giving him that chance.

He stretched out on the cot that was center of the ship, it was like a small side room, big enough for Han Solo, but not for Ben. He was still a good few inches taller than his father, so when he laid down, his feet hung off the end of the cot. He didn’t care. The cot smelled like an old tavern, a bit like dust particles and metal, and if Ben focused hard enough, it smelled a little like his father. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind, the way he used to do when he would meditate during his Jedi training days. He was at peace here, but peace never lasted very long, and soon, the nightmares would come and the screaming would follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two are interesting to write. I want to keep their personalities as similar as possible to canon, but naturally, it'll change because our lovely Ben Solo is making the switch to the light. I kind of imagined his Ben Solo side to be sweet, but sarcastic with a bit of dry humor (kind of like the actor who plays him). As of now, I want to try and explore their minds since their thoughts through their Force bond is a lot of what we see...and those DAMN LOOKS he gives her in all the movies. I just wish I knew what he was thinking in those scenes, so imma try and write that. Anyway, Rey's on a mission to bring Luke and Leia's sabers home and maybe we'll get a look at what's happening back at the Resistance base! 
> 
> Cheers!  
> x


	5. Skywalker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey finds some sort of peace in burying Luke and Leia's lightsabers while Ben fights off nightmares. They find comfort in each other. Trouble strikes the Resistance Base and Poe requests help.

### Skywalker

**REY**

She stood at the top of the sand dune overlooking Master Luke’s old hut. It was dark, but she thought she could feel him closer here. She scavenged for a piece of old metal and slid down the dune. She walked from room to room. The small kitchen area, the bedroom that belong to Luke’s aunt and uncle, and the workshop area where Rey assumed Luke used to work on the droids. She could practically see young Luke Skywalker fixing up an annoying C-3PO and a curious R2-D2. She grinned at the thought. Finally, she wandered into Luke’s room. There wasn’t much left. Just an old bed that was scorched and frayed and slowly withering. Most of their old possessions, Rey assumed, would’ve been wiped out when the Empire bombed this place in search for the droids. But more of it remained then she had expected. She tore a piece of the red cloth from Luke’s bed and sat on the floor. She laid it out and then, carefully, unclipped Luke and Leia’s lightsabers from her belt. She gently wrapped them and ventured back outside.

The twin suns were beginning their final descent into the horizon. The sky was every shade of gold and pink. She placed the two sabers a short distance away from the hut, and closing her eyes, she willed the sands of Tatooine to swallow them. It was time to let go of the past. But she knew Luke and Leia were never really gone. They were part of the only family she had ever known. She would never allow herself to believe she was a Palpatine. She was so much more than that, Luke and Leia made sure she knew that. She would be forever grateful for them.

She brought out her new lightsaber and it buzzed to life in a bright yellow. The color reminded her of peace, rebirth instead of death and destruction, and as much as Jakku was a living hell for her, the yellow reminded her a little bit of home.

She clicked the saber off as a woman approached. “There hasn’t been anyone here in so long,” she started, her voice old and croaky, her skin wrinkled like old leather. “Who are you?” she continued.

Rey smiled at the woman as she stood. “I’m Rey.”

The woman looked at her curiously. “Rey _who_?”

Rey paused for a moment. She would never use the name Palpatine, but saying she was Rey nobody didn’t feel right anymore. She had a family. It was comprised of a wookie and two generals, three incredible little droids, the former Supreme Leader, every Jedi before her, and…Luke and Leia. The two people who trusted that her goodness was enough and trained her even when she had so much potential to fall to the dark. She glanced off into the sunset and she could make out two silhouettes coming into focus. A blue haze surrounded her former masters as they smiled at her. The gleam in Leia’s eyes and Luke’s grin told her one thing: _We are your family as you are a part of ours._ She could feel it through the Force as clear as if they had just spoken it in her ear. She knew where she belonged now.

She turned back to the woman with a soft smile. “Rey Skywalker.”

~

Even after the woman had left, Rey stood with BB-8 whirring happily by her side as she watched the twin suns sink beneath the horizon. She had never felt more at peace. She felt like she could finally breathe now.

That’s when a disruption in the Force around her caused every hair on her neck to stand straight up. _Ben._ She ran back to the Falcon as fast as her legs would take her. She heard his screams before she even climbed aboard.

She found him writhing on the small cot, the thin blanket that failed to cover him properly was in a knotted mess as he twisted and turned. He had messed up the wrapping and splint of his leg. He was calling out for someone. With a startled breath, she realized he was calling out for _her._ She rushed to his side.

“Ben!” She said loudly, shaking his shoulder. He was drenched in sweat. She placed both hands on either side of his face and almost instantly he settled. She spoke through their link. _Ben, wake up._ His eyes fluttered open, they looked wide and scared until they settled on her face. He sat up quickly, taking her face in his hands. His eyes were wild, searching hers with such intensity she thought she might crumble under his gaze.

“Rey,” he muttered.

“I’m here.” She brushed his hair back from his sweaty forehead and he kissed her long and slow.

“Don’t let go,” he whispered as he pulled her head into his chest.

“Never.” she said. Then, after a moment, she decided it was safe to press the question lodged in the back of her throat. “What was it about?”

He pulled back, scanning her face like he’d never see it again. “It was the Sith all over again, but I couldn’t reach you this time. I could see your lifeless form but every time I tried to run to you, you were further and further away. I had never felt so helpless.” He dropped his head.

She sighed painfully. She remembered the ache in her chest when she thought she had lost him. She placed a finger under his chin drawing his eyes back up to hers. “But you _did_ get to me, Ben.” She took his hand and pressed it to the place where her heart beat pounded in her chest. “I’m alive because you saved me and I’m _here,_ Ben. And I swear, I’m not going anywhere.”

He sighed and buried his head in her shoulder. “Thank you,” he mumbled and she knew it wasn’t just for her being there now. It was a thank you that encompassed all the times she had been there for him before, all the times she had never given up on him, and for bringing him back to the light. She could feel his appreciation for it all pulsating through the Force. He pulled back and looked at her with so much emotion. She thought about all the times they had shared paragraphs through just their eyes. Small talk was never something they had been any good at, and, quite honestly, there was never any need for it. They had always just _known_ what the other was thinking or feeling, and if not, Rey was always brutally blunt. But Ben had an intensity in his eyes. From the beginning, that look had never faltered, even before all of this. He looked at her like he could see her soul, and in some ways, through their Force bond, she supposed that was true, but it wasn’t just that. It was deeper than that, like he could hate everything in the galaxy except her. Like he could set it all on fire but _never her_. She was a fire all on her own. And for once, someone truly _saw_ her for more than just a scavenger. And he never had to say a word. 

She intertwined her fingers through his. A simple gesture made for two people who had fallen in love through completely different circumstances. It wasn’t a gesture made for _them_ , yet it felt right. It felt like balance. She offered him a soft smile, returning the look he was giving her. “Come. Let’s see if we can get some rest tonight.”

~

She mended the splint for his leg. It was healing nicely. He was walking easier now than before even if he was still using the crutch. She figured part of that he could contribute to the Force.

The suns had disappeared taking its warmth with them. Strips of pink and gold stretched along the horizon, their colors fading into the midnight blue that was settling over the desert. It was cold. Deserts were like that. Burning hot during the day and freezing at night. She had spent enough time on Jakku to know this. She had spent enough nights curled in the corner of her shelter to keep warm.

But even now, as the night gradually replaced the heat, Rey was warm. She could feel Ben in the air around her. The sense of comfort radiating off of him was enough to warm her in even the coldest of places. He felt almost _happy_. She didn’t even know a time in which Ben felt truly happy. She had always sensed the darkness that haunted him linger on the outskirts of her mind. He had been so sad when they had met. So very much alone.

But when she led him to Luke’s old room and kicked off her boots to lay down, she sensed none of that from Ben. He leaned his crutch against the wall then turned to face her. He raised an eyebrow at her as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“What?” she said trying to hide her grin. She could feel his uneasiness about laying in a bed together and more importantly his uncle's old bed.

“Am I supposed to…” his voice lingered off as he eyed the bed. For the leader of such a dark empire, his nerves were extremely on edge.

“Calm down, Ben. Just lay with me. It might help the nightmares if we’re close.”

He moved to sit next to her. “You get them, too? Nightmares?”

Rey folded her hands in her lap. “For as long as I can remember. Sometimes it’s the day my parents left, sometimes it was me sitting on a dark throne, but more recently, it’s just been watching you fade away in my arms on Exegol.”

Ben didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, he did something so unlike himself that she shivered. He reached behind her head and undid each of her buns. Her hair fell in waves around her shoulders. He tucked a stray piece behind her ear as he turned her head to face him again. “Come on, then,” he said simply. He didn’t need to comment on the nightmares she had told him. She already could see what he was saying by just looking at his eyes. _If the nightmares come for you again, I promise you will never be alone fighting them off._ He pressed his lips to her forehead and then she curled up by his side. Almost instantly, Rey drifted off into a much needed sleep.

~

Morning came, soft and vulnerable, the way it should. Gold light started to fill the hut and cool air danced across her skin. She hadn’t opened her eyes yet. She was rolled on her side, her back up against Ben’s chest. His arm was wrapped around her waist and she didn’t dare disrupt the moment. It felt good to be held. To feel the Force humming around them with ease. He shifted behind her and she finally caved and opened her eyes. She rolled over slowly attempting to keep him from waking up.

He had never looked so peaceful. His dark hair was messy and tangled and dusting across his forehead. Lying next him, Rey realized just how small she was compared to him. His shoulders were broad, his arms, thick and muscled from years of training and fighting. In this moment, she could almost forget all they’d been through. The way he looked when his red saber clashed with her blue one. In this moment, though he looked strong and like his health was returning to him, he looked like he couldn’t hurt anything in the whole galaxy.

“You’re staring,” he mumbled, eyes still closed. Damn the Force sometimes.

“You look less intimidating when you sleep,” she replied with a small smile.

He opened his eyes. “Oh, you find me intimidating?” The mischievous glint was back in his eyes.

“Please, if that were the case we wouldn’t be here right now,” she answered snidely. Suddenly, in one swift motion, Ben seized her waist and flipped her onto her back with him lying on top of her. She gasped as he did so.

“How about now, scavenger?” His voice was dangerously low.

She pretended to take offense, “Wow, Supreme Leader, how very immature of you. I’m _terrified._ I wonder,” she said drawing her hands up the sides of his arms that he had placed on either side of her head, “if you’ll be able to handle my retaliation like you used to.” Her hands trailed down the sides of his waist and curled under the fabric of his shirt. The moment her skin touched his, he caved.

“You win,” he said huskily, then kissed her with an intensity Rey had never felt before. All their other kisses were—and there hadn’t been many yet—gentle and lingering. This one was passionate, hungry even. Ben left a series of kisses down her jaw and neck until he reached the place where her pulse beat steadily. She gripped his shoulders tightly and shut her eyes. His hands slid down her sides until they fit to the curve of her waist. Distinctly, Rey heard the com link crackling to life in the other room. 

“ _Ben_ ,” she said, but it came out as more of a sighed whisper than anything else.

“Rey?” came Poe’s voice from the other end of the com. “Rey, are you there?”

Ben let up looking slightly annoyed but there was a sort of pride in his eyes. Rey wondered if he had ever done anything like that with anyone else. She knew she hadn’t. She wouldn’t have wanted to anyways, Ben was the only one she had ever felt so strongly for.

“I’d better answer that,” she said pushing herself up past Ben and walked into the other room.

She grabbed the little white link from the kitchen table. “Poe? I’m here, is everything okay?”

His voice sounded distracted when he answered. “Do you want the good news first or the bad?”

Rey felt her heart rate pick up. Ben walked up beside her. “Good, I suppose.”

“Well, the council has surprisingly taken the news of Kylo—sorry, I mean, Ben Solo’s switch back to the light surprisingly well. You can tell the bastard he has Leia to thank for that. We still have yet to vote on what to do with him, but no one is out to kill him yet. You should know, lots of people spoke up on his behalf saying we wouldn’t have won if he hadn’t come to help you. Plus, it’s what Leia wanted from the beginning. They sort of feel like they’re honoring her this way.”

Rey glanced at Ben with a smile. His face showed no expression, but there was a gleam in his dark eyes. Hope. “That’s good, Poe. That’s really good, thank you.”

Poe grunted. “Ready for the bad?”

“What is it?”

“Finn took a team out to search for any remaining First Order loyalists and any Force sensitive people he could find,” Poe’s voice faltered.

“Poe,” Rey said, worry seeped into her bones and weighed her down.

“They’ve got him, Rey. They took Finn.”

Rey’s voice was incredulous. “ _Who_ took him?”

“They call themselves the Knights of Sidious.” Poe said darkly.

Rey looked at Ben but his brows were furrowed. He was just as confused as she was. “Poe, find out what you can about them, and send whatever information you have on Finn’s location to the Falcon’s transmitter. I’m going after him.” Rey said with finality because the look Ben was giving her said _no way in hell am I letting you do that._ She also knew that Ben was aware that arguing with her would get him nowhere.

Poe’s voice returned. “Give me your location. I’m sending something better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name of our new antagonists will be explained in time. There's always gotta be someone trying to avenge someone else, Right? Maybe? I don't know. Anyway, time to get help from some old friends!
> 
> Cheers!  
> x


	6. Shades of Blue

### Shades of Blue

**BEN**

Ben watched as Rey turned from relaxed to completely frantic, though not in a panicked way. She set her jaw and moved back into Luke’s room with swift determination. He watched as she quickly slipped on her boots and tied her hair back into her traditional three buns. The smile that graced her face that morning was wiped clean and replaced with the same steady look Ben had seen so many times. He fought down the pang of jealousy that was rising in his throat. She was going after Finn without hesitation, the very thought of his capture wiping away any humor she had held prior to the news. He wondered if she’d ever be like that with him.

As she strode past him, she said, “I did. Nothing scared me nearly as bad as the thought of you dying. Plus, I risked both our lives bringing you back to an unwelcoming Resistance base.” He really had to be conscious of shielding his mind from her occasionally. He watched her grab her staff, attach her saber to her hip, and stalk off. Then he shrugged his shoulders and followed. She continued talking when she sensed him close behind her. “Finn is one of my best friends. I’d die for any one of them.” Then she turned and prodded a finger into his chest, hard. “I’d do the same for you.”

He nodded. “I know, I’m sorry, I thought it without thinking. Let’s go get him.” Rey stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss before turning on her heel and heading to the Falcon. BB-8 beeped behind him and he turned and looked down at the droid. “No, we weren’t going to leave you,” he said with a small grin. He nodded his head towards the Flacon, “Come on.” BB-8 made a few happy beeps before rolling away. Ben shook his head. Peace was a luxury a Jedi, an intelligent droid, and an ex Supreme Leader just couldn’t afford for long, could they?

He climbed onto the Falcon.

Ben found Rey messing with the transmitter on the bridge of the ship. BB-8 watched her intently. Suddenly, a blue hologram of Poe popped to life.

“Got any news for me?” she asked him. Ben took his seat in the co pilot’s chair.

“Well, you can thank Ben for the name of our new friends. Did he really have to make the name of his followers so catchy? The Knights of Ren?”

“Get on with it, Poe,” Rey said.

“Right. Well, it seems that they are Sith loyalists of Palpatine.” Ben saw Rey cringe when he said the name. Poe continued, “They’ve got a base located in the Outer Rim territory on a planet known as Geonosis.”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “Interesting choice.”

Rey glanced at him. “Why?”

“The original Death Star was constructed above it. About five years after the end of the Clone Wars, the Empire mined the planet’s asteroids for minerals. Then, they moved the construction site so they sterilized the planet as a security measure. Basically, that’s just a fancy way of saying they virtually eliminated the entire native population. The planet has been void of life since,” Ben explained. “Really all that’s left are old run down settlements and whole lot of sand.” Ben cringed. “I hate sand, it’s coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.”

Rey gave him an odd look. “You should’ve told me that before I had us camp out on Tatooine. Also, how do you know all of this? The Clone Wars and the Death Star happened forever ago.”

Ben shrugged. “You have to know these things when you’re Supreme Leader, you know.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Poe, do you know anything about their base?”

“From what I can tell, it looks like it’s been active for years, but they’ve been good at hiding. The base is large and heavily guarded by stormtroopers. I’m transmitting a map of the base now. Our scans couldn’t pick up everything we needed, but we had to retrieve the information without being detected.” The hologram switched from Poe to a holographic outline of the base. “The entrance is here,” Poe continued and a virtual red line pointed it out. “We believe Finn is being kept in one of the prison cells here.” Another line pointed to a cell block on the opposite side of the entrance. “There’s a big throne room more center of the base where I suppose all the Knights or whoever have their little council meetings about how to take over the galaxy. Finn could possibly be there if they know he’s leverage enough for us to come get him. We still don’t know why they took him, but if it’s got anything to do with Palpatine, be careful, Rey. They might be trying to lure you in.”

“I know. I just wish I knew what they were really up to. It can’t just be to avenge Palpatine.” she replied solemnly.

“No,” Ben said, “Once people get a taste of power, they’ll do just about anything to obtain it and keep it from others.” He looked down. “Take it from someone who knows.”

“You turned it down, Ben. You’re not that anymore. You’re so much stronger than these people,” Rey said, her voice had softened just a little. It wasn’t sympathy, Rey wasn’t one for sugar coating. Instead, her voice sounded full of compassion and pride and so sure of herself that even Ben wanted to believe it. He met her eyes. They were steady, as per usual. She would never back down from making sure knew he was so much more than he gave himself credit for. He wanted to grab her and kiss her everywhere she would let him, but she nodded and turned back to Poe before he worked up the courage to do so. “But I think Ben might be right. It’s a constant battle for power these days. If Palpatine couldn’t do it, the next powerful people will try.”

Poe nodded thoughtfully. “I agree. We need to stop them from raising a new Empire before they get the chance. Should I assemble a strike team?”

“No,” Rey said. “Let me go in and see if I can figure out just how far along they’ve come. We didn’t even know about the Star Destroyer fleet on Exegol, they could’ve created something similar. I’ll bring Finn home and we’ll search for other force sensitives. I’m going to train a new Jedi Order and then we’re going after them.”

Ben felt pride rise in him. His girl was stepping up. He could sense she was uneasy about training new Jedi, but she would do anything to keep her people safe. She reminded him a little bit like Leia. “For now,” he spoke to Poe, “keep the Resistance alert and active in case we need to move, defend or attack.” Poe looked at him skeptically as if Ben was in no position to be giving orders, which, of course, he wasn’t, but this wasn’t his first time growing a team of followers. “I’m sorry if that was out of line,” he said, nodding his head down to Poe, “but I’ve done this before. I know how to protect my people.”

Poe looked taken aback. “No, no. It’s okay. I’m surprisingly glad to have you on our team this time around. Just do _not_ betray my trust.”

The ship landing outside turned the conversation. Rey stood up fast and whipped out her saber. She ignited it. Ben was surprised to see the yellow saber, the grip looking like she had built it out of scavenged parts and wrapped in a similar material to the wraps she wore on her arms. It was so much _like her_ , Ben couldn't help but grin. “Who’s that?” she said, voice alerted. Ben knew it wasn’t danger. He sensed it in the Force.

“That,” Poe started, “would be the help I have sent you.”

Outside the Falcon, they heard a low guttural growl that could only, unmistakably be Chewbacca. Rey smiled like she had just been given the galaxy. She clicked off her saber and ran outside. The hologram of Poe clicked off and Ben and BB-8 followed her out.

When he reached Rey, she was enveloped in Chewy’s big, furry arms. R2 beeped happily next to them. Rose smiled from the landing platform of the ship they arrived on. It was an older model; it was not meant for flying into a war zone. It resembled more of a transport ship. Large and covered in rusted metal.

“Nice ship,” Ben said nodding to Rose.

“Well, we didn’t have much of choice if we wanted to successfully transport all four of us since you guys took the Falcon.”

Rey pulled back from Chewy. “Wait, four?”

As if on cue, Poe stepped out past Rose. “You didn’t think I’d let you go get Finn without me, did you?”

Rey laughed and sprinted into Poe’s waiting arms. “Who did you leave in charge of the base?”

Poe grinned. “The only person I trusted to protect and lead my people. Captain Calrissian with the help of C-3PO. That protocol droid will keep the Resistance in shape, plus, I don't know if I'd survive with that rambling droid always telling us how the odds are never in our favor..”

Chewy growled in agreement.

R2 beeped beside Ben. He glanced down at the dorid. “R2’s right.”

Rey turned to him. “About what?”

“Do you still have the tracking beacon Finn gave to you?” He asked her.

The realization dawned on Rey’s face. “Of course!” she lifted up her wrist to show she still had it on.

Poe’s face basically glowed. “That could make our job much easier when we get to the base. It’ll help us find him in that maze! R2, you’re a genius!”

The droid beeped happily.

“Should we get moving?” Rose asked.

Without hesitation, the crew boarded the Falcon. Poe and Rey had a sort of stare off behind the captain’s chair before Poe gave in and took a seat behind her.

Chewy growled a question at Ben.

“You can be her co pilot this time around,” Ben responded. He gave Rey a quick kiss on the cheek before taking his seat behind Chewy. Rose had disappeared to manage and repair controls. The ship still could use some repairs since the battle on Exegol and she insisted she would be much more helpful attending to the ship than she would be on the bridge.

Rey took off then looked at Chewy. “Ready for the jump to lightspeed?”

Chewy nodded vigorously while making a series of growls. Ben couldn’t deny the unease. Was it always like this? He was jealous of the family she had found on this side and the way they all worked so well together. Ben had never found that on his side. He was always either initiating fear or following commands of someone who initiated fear into him. He was lonely before and he had been a fool to think he would ever be welcomed like a family while apart of the First Order. Now, he was starting to feel like he had one. None of them had treated Ben any different than another member helping out their mission. Ben would do everything in his power to make sure that never changed. For the first time, in a long time, he felt like he could finally be happy. Here, apart of this band of small rebels with his girl flying the ship. _His girl._ That was still weird for him to think. Even with this family she had, she still chose him. Still chose to bring him back. He never in a million years thought someone could ever love him, but she turned to him as he thought this and smiled. It was enough to never let the dark side tempt him again. If he could wake up to that smile every day of his life and, oh, how he planned to. He winked at her and then together, she and Chewy reached for the controls. The small crew was instantly enveloped in starlight and shades of blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know that one scene in Frozen when Olaf goes, "LET'S GO KISS HANS!!!"????  
> So imagine that but instead of that phrase, imagine it being, "LET'S GO SAVE FINN!!!!"  
> Really needing a scene in which Ben Solo gets to be apart of the team IN THE FALCON.  
> robbed. we were robbed.  
> Anyway, let's pretend!
> 
> Cheers!  
> x


	7. To Geonosis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for being a bit absent recently (that is if any of you wonderful people have read this far), college started back up so I'm sure you can all imagine how hectic it can be. Also, apologies for errors anywhere; I am editing this with a migraine so that's always good. Anyway, time to make the trek to save Finn! Enjoy!

### To Geonosis

**REY**

The trip was short; they were already near the Outer Rim with Tatooine as their starting point. Rey navigated through the asteroids that made up the rings of the planet. When they entered the atmosphere, Rey wasn’t shocked to find a hard, rocky desert terrain. It was filled with crumbling structures just as Ben had told her. She flew on until she spotted the base in the horizon. She brought the ship down at that point where it was far enough out of range, and well enough hidden by a tall, withering rock formation. They couldn’t just park the Millennium Falcon at the entrance. It would be a trek to the base, but it would make their mission easier if no one knew they were coming, if they didn’t already. They could’ve been monitoring for incoming ships through the asteroid rings or just the atmosphere in general. In fact, Rey was almost positive they would’ve been. But nobody picked up on the transmitter demanding for access to land.

Ben noticed her unease. “Ships land here all the time searching for refuge from the First Order or just to start over. They never last long, though. Their bodies are not adapted to the harsh climate on this planet. Only the locals could withstand for long periods of time. They probably are monitoring ships, but you landed far enough away that I don’t think they suspect us as a threat.”

Poe nodded thoughtfully. “That’s probably why the base is dead center of this wasteland. No one ventures in this far.”

Rose came up to the bridge. “It’s probably a day and a half’s journey from here based on my calculations. You’re right about the monitors, though. If we had gone in any further, they would’ve blown us out of the sky. Our best bet will be to travel by foot.”

“If our plan goes the way they normally do, we’ll need a quick escape. Someone should stay with the ship in case something goes wrong,” Poe replied. 

Rey nodded. “It almost _always_ goes wrong. We should take out the monitors and weapons if we can while inside the base so the Falcon can get to us safely.”

“I can stay and fly the ship,” Rose said.

“No,” Ben spoke up. “We’ll need your wits and skill to deactivate the monitors.”

Chewy growled low and Rey looked at him questionably. “Are you sure, Chewy?”

The wookie nodded his head and growled again.

“Okay, then. Chewy stays.” Poe responded.

Rey smiled. “There’s no one I’d trust more.”

After packing lots of water, portions of dried food, and two tents to provide some shelter during the night, the group plus BB-8 set off for the base. They stayed close to the rock formations trying to stay as hidden as possible.

Rey had strapped her saber to her belt. She had thrown Ben’s in her pack, but she was wanting to wait for a moment alone with him before giving it to him. For now, he had placed a blaster in the holster wrapped around his waist.

They both had changed clothes since they landed. Rey was dressed in tight fitting white pants and a snug white long sleeved shirt. A silver band wrapped around her bicep. A tan belt wrapped around her waist holstering her saber and a small blaster, and she wore tan boots that stopped a little below her knees. She wore a tan, hooded cloak across her shoulders. It was an outfit fit for the desert, but she had to admit, it hugged all of her curves just right. She had literally watched Ben’s eyes trail the length of her body when she stepped out of the Falcon. In his defense, though, she had done the same. He was dressed like a Jedi in black pants, tall black boots, and the traditional Jedi formed black shirt. He had wrapped his black cloak around his shoulders. His brown belt holding his blaster by his side. He looked like a mix of Anakin and his father. And Rey had to admit, it was _extremely_ attractive.

Poe and Rose walked ahead of them with BB-8, so she hung back with Ben.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured and when she met his eyes, she could’ve sworn his cheeks were tinted pink. She didn’t think of Ben Solo as the blushing type, but she didn’t mind. Only she had this effect on him.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, Jedi,” she answered with a smirk.

“Jedi?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. “Wouldn’t go that far yet.”

She smiled and weaved her hand into his. “Soon, Ben. Soon.”

They didn’t experience any trouble along their path even as they reached the halfway point, but they were more cautious the closer they got. The talking eased up and they stuck to as many shadows as they could find. When the sun had finally set and the dark settled over the sand stealing all of the heat with it, they decided to set up camp.

They chose a secluded spot behind a very large rock pillar and set up the two tents. They didn’t dare start a fire, but they sat together and ate their dried food portions and hydrated.

“Let’s go over the plan,” Rey said.

Poe grinned. “We go in, kill some stormtroopers, break out Finn, and get the hell out.”

Rey suppressed a smile. “I’m serious.”

Poe rolled his eyes, but Rose answered for him. She pulled out a small metal disk and clicked. it. A portable hologram of the base popped up. “The entrance is here, but it would be too obvious to go in that way. So, I think, and this speculation is totally built on my knowledge of past bases, that there would be a side entrance closer to the back. I vote we enter there.”

“We’d need the code to get in,” Ben said.

“We could just blast it down,” Poe said.

“That would alert the entire base of our presence.”

Rose nodded. “From what I’ve gathered, the door is most likely built with wires not codes. It’s an older base, built long before the First Order. I could rewire the system to let us in or Rey could cut the wires with her saber. Neither would alert them of our presence if done correctly, but we’d have a better chance with the rewiring.”

BB-8 beeped next to Ben. “Or, we could have him open the door,” Ben said with a small smile motioning to the droid.

“Perfect,” Rey said. “Then once we’re in, I vote we split up. Ben and I will check the throne room as we’re the best in hand to hand combat. Rose and Poe, you guys check the prison block and see if Finn is in one of the cells. Poe, do you still have the com link I gave you?” He nodded. “Great, alert me if you’ve run into trouble or find Finn. We’ll do the same.”

After a while longer, Poe and Rose carried themselves off to one of the tents. They were big enough for two people to share comfortably, but Rey knew she’d tuck herself into Ben when they disappeared into their tent.

But Rey wasn’t ready to sleep just yet. The sky was clear, and the stars looked impossibly far away, but they glittered in the night sky like a thousand jewels. Ben leaned against her. His presence buzzed in the air around her like volts of electricity. His head was tilted up to the sky slightly. Two moons were visible from their position and she thought, taking a moment to drink all of him in, that no one in the whole galaxy looked better drenched in moonlight than Ben. His long curls were brushed back out of his face. His dark eyes shined like all the stars lived in them. And when he looked at her, her breath caught.

“What?” he asked her.

She didn’t say anything, just leaned into him and pressed her lips to his. He hummed against her mouth and Rey felt every nerve in her body overload at the sound. It was cold out, but her skin was hot. She ran her hand through his soft hair, something she had wanted to do since the moment she met him. Now, she never thought she’d ever get enough of it. _Of him._ His lips were soft against hers, but the more she leaned in, the hungrier he got. She could feel his desire pulsating in the Force surrounding her. He snaked a hand around her waist and pulled her on top of him so she was straddling his legs. His hands gripped her thighs which drove Rey crazy. He was so much bigger than she was, with strong hands and strong arms twice the size of her, and she loved that she was the only one who could bring this man to his knees.

She pulled away for a moment. “I have something for you.”

His eyes were still closed as he started to trail kisses down her neck. “Is this not it?”

She gripped his shoulders tightly as he gently sucked the soft part of her neck. “ _Ben._ ” She murmured. This only encouraged him more. Rey felt like every part of her body had just been struck by lightning, tingling and catching fire.

“Mhm?” he said, not bothering to stop. She pulled away slightly and he opened his eyes at her questioningly. “Am I doing something wrong?” he asked sounding thoroughly concerned. She wanted to kiss him again for that comment. It sounded so innocent. She wondered if he was more like Kylo Ren in bed than he was Ben, but immediately shook the thought from her mind. A Jedi cannot afford to think like that, especially a Jedi _on a mission._

“No, no, Ben. You’re doing _everything_ right, trust me. I just haven’t had a moment alone to give you something very important. Don’t be angry I kept it from you this whole time. I just was waiting for the right moment, and as you’ll probably be needing it tomorrow, now seems like a better time than any.” She answered. He looked at her questioningly and she crawled off of him to get her pack. Then, she returned, sitting in front of him with her legs crossed. She pulled out his lightsaber and saw his eyes immediately light up.

“My old saber! Where did you get this?” he demanded, but not unkindly. He brought his saber to life. In the blue glow of it, he reminded her a little of his uncle.

“Leia entrusted it to me before Exegol. You’re not mad?”

Ben’s eyes gleamed mischievously as he clicked off the saber and attached it to his belt. “Oh, no, rebel scum. I am _furious._ ” he said it lightly and with a grin on his face and that’s when Rey knew she was in trouble. “I think you’ll need some sort of punishment, don’t you?”

She shook her head rapidly, but Ben had already stood to his feet. In one swift motion, he picked her up like she weighed nothing and tossed her over his shoulder. She was laughing by the time they reached the tent.

Rey woke early that morning tucked in tightly against Ben. Her head was pressed to his chest and she took a moment to breathe him in. He smelled like sand, sweat, fresh linen, and something that reminded her a little of the scent Han Solo used to carry with him. Cologne possibly? Did ex Supreme Leaders even wear cologne? He must have because it was a scent Rey was familiar with from all their close proximity conversations.

She felt him slowly take in a deep breath as his hand reached up to her hair. He had taken it out of her usual buns again the night before so it fell in tangly waves across her shoulders.

Without opening his eyes, he stroked her hair back from her forehead and continued trailing his fingers through it lazily.

“As much as I’m enjoying this,” she said lifting her face up to his, “we have to go get Finn.”

Ben’s eyes opened slowly and met her eyes. “I know,” he said heaving a sigh. Rey kissed his cheek then unraveled herself from his arms and went to grab her belt that Ben had tossed in the corner the night before after he took it off of her. If they hadn’t been so exhausted from a day’s worth of traveling and maybe not on a mission to save her best friend, she knew things probably would’ve escalated a lot more than they had last night.

After she and Ben were ready, they went to go wake up the others. BB-8 was rolling around outside the tent and came up to them with a few annoyed beeps claiming they needed to get moving.

Poe and Rose joined them for a quick meal of their last portions and then they set off for the base.

The weight of the situation started to weigh heavily on everybody. Only BB-8 seemed to be in a decent mood, but Rey figured he was just excited to see Finn. The others were quiet, even more so as they neared the base.

By noon, they were stationed behind a rift of rocks a few hundred yards from the base. Rey had underestimated just how large it truly was. It stretched the length of at least four Star Destroyers lined up next to each other. Stormtroopers were lined up in front of the doors, there had to be at least 20 of them.

“So,” Poe started. “How do we get to the side entrance without being detected?”

Rey eyed up the rock formations lining around the base. She assumed they chose this spot partly because the natural rock pillars of the planet offered some type of cover. This was convenient for them. “Stick close to the rocks and don’t get caught.”

Poe and Rose nodded. BB-8 beeped nervously by their side. Ben made eye contact with Rey then, as they turned to leave, he mumbled, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a feeling we've got some action sequences coming up hehe. Maybe Ben will get a chance to use his old saber. I try to update within two to three days, but as college will get more hectic, please bear with me. Love all you lovely readers!
> 
> Cheers!  
> x


	8. The Knights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably could've just kept going with this chapter because we have some nice reylo scenes coming up next chapter, but after finishing a 500 page book today, I could swear the words were blurring off the screen as I finished and edited this chapter. With that being said, I apologize for any stupid errors I might've left unattended. Anyway, time to rescue Finn and get the hell away from sand!!

### The Knights

**BEN**

They crept along the rocks, sticking close to the shadows. Ben followed last, hand hovering near is lightsaber. He was still trying to get used to having the weight of it on his belt again. It was lighter than his red one. Even though his old one was a symbol of the dark side, he missed having it with him. It was the only weapon he was truly comfortable with, though he had to admit, he was pretty damn good with a blaster, too. He could thank his dad for that one. It sounded silly, but he felt truly complete having a lightsaber back in his hand, especially the one that had marked him as a padawan and had once promised him the title of Jedi. He hoped he could earn that again. He was surprised Rey had kept it for him, he could’ve kissed her forever after she handed it to him. She truly did trust him. After all he had done, he knew she forgave him, but trusting a dark lord with his own skilled weapon? She truly had faith in him. It lit his soul on fire.

Rey put her hand up to stop him from moving forward, her eyes trained on the base. They peered over the rock formation.

“That’s the door I’m assuming,” she said pointing in the direction. Ben followed her gaze to a small secluded side door. If they hadn’t been carefully searching for it, they probably would’ve never noticed it. Two stormtroopers were guarded at the entrance.

“That’s it,” Rose said.

Poe offered a small grin. “Less troopers here. We can take two. Ben, time to prove yourself.” He nodded his head in the direction of the stormtroopers.

Ben grinned. “What? You don’t trust me?” he said, pretending to be offended.

“Don’t push your luck, Ren,” he replied, but his tone was light. Ben rolled his eyes at the use of his old name, then stood and climbed over the rocks.

He walked calmly towards the stormtroopers. He knew how to handle these guys, but he wouldn’t kill them unless he had to.

“Hey!” said the first trooper. “Who are you?”

“Kylo Ren.”

The second trooper laughed and stepped forward nudging Ben in the chest with his blaster. “ _You’re_ Kylo Ren?”

Ben smiled and putting on his best Han Solo impression, he answered, “I used to be.” Then he snagged the blaster from the troopers hand and spun him around. Ben banged the blaster against the back of his head, hard. The trooper fell to the ground. Ben sensed he was just unconscious. The second trooper started blasting. Ben whipped out his saber and ignited it. He deflected one of the blasts into the troopers leg. He yelled out in pain and fell to his knee. Ben smacked him across his helmet and he, too, fell unconscious.

That was too easy. No wonder the Resistance tended to beat them. Stormtroopers were decently pathetic. Ben nodded at the others peering above the rocks to come on down.

BB-8 set to work on the control panel next to the door. Ben leaned casually against the wall and ran a hand through his hair. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rey staring at him. He suppressed a grin.

“Not bad,” Poe said coming to stand next to him. He had dragged the two stormtroopers around the nearest corner to hide them.

Ben inclined his head. “I’ll do whatever I can to prove you can trust me.” he answered. BB-8 beeped and Rey went over to help him with the door.

Poe looked at Ben intently and lowering his voice, he said, “You love her, don’t you?”

Ben stared at him peculiarly. Poe didn’t strike him as the kind of person to ask a question like that nor care about the answer, but Ben wanted Poe to trust him, so he thought for a moment before answering. “From the moment I saw her,” he said finally.

Poe grinned. “Well, you sure have an interesting way of showing it.”

Ben looked out and fixed his eyes on a fairly tall rock pillar. “It was complicated. I was so sure the dark side would give me everything I wanted. I know it seem like I had the best parents in the galaxy, but for a young boy who had a father that left consistently and a mother that sent him away and an uncle who expected too much, the dark side seemed better at the time. Snoke was constantly in my head. And once you’re in, you can’t really just walk out. It’s no excuse, but I was lost.” Ben hadn’t expected to say that much, but he had never really talked about it before to anyone, and for whatever reason, Poe was listening intently.

“And then?” Poe pressed.

Ben sighed and glanced at Rey who was talking to Rose as BB-8 still tried to get the door open. “And then, she came into my life. And she was all fire for such a small thing. She was so strong for never having experienced anything like the Force before in her life. And she looked at me like no one else ever had. Like even though I had messed up so much, I could still be saved. I didn’t think there would ever be a way out and I didn’t think anyone could ever care for me after all I had done. But she did. She just kept fighting for me to come home and after Starkiller base, I never wanted to let a single thing hurt her ever again.” His voice dropped an octave. “And on Exegol, when I thought I had lost her,” he hesitated before saying, “it felt like a piece of my soul was getting ripped out. We’re a dyad in the Force, we’ll forever be connected that way, but it’s so much more. She was the only thing that could bring me back to the light. ‘I love you’ doesn’t even do it justice.”

Poe stared at him for a minute. “Wow, man, you got it bad.”

Ben laughed. “You have no idea.”

“For what it’s worth,” he started a little more seriously, “I’m glad she has you. Rey’s like a sister to me. I haven’t seen her as happy as she is with you ever, I don’t think. I still don’t like you, yet, though, so don’t let that get to your head.”

Ben grinned.

“One more question,” Poe said. “Have you _told_ her you love her?”

Ben let his smile fall for a moment. He wasn’t expecting that. “Well, I haven’t _said_ it, but I’m fairly confident she knows.”

“Yeah, but girls like to hear it.” Poe shrugged.

Ben didn’t get a chance to respond because just then, he heard the door slide open.

“Finally,” Rose said. BB-8 beeped defiantly at her saying he had to navigate through Sith translations to get it opened. She apologized to the droid.

Poe and Rose led the way and as Ben met Rey’s eyes before following he thought about what Poe said. The real reason he had never said “I love you” out loud was because he was afraid she would run. That saying it would make it official and she’d realize she didn’t feel the same. Ben also knew he _wanted_ to say it. He wanted her to know exactly what she meant to him. He just wanted the timing to be perfect, if there was ever a perfect time for something like that. He was careful to guard his mind as he thought this.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “What?” she asked.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek and without a word, turned and followed the others inside.

They broke off once they had a decent idea of where they were. Rose had pulled out her portable holographic map and showed each of them where to go. BB-8, Poe, and Rose headed off in the direction of the cell block. Ben and Rey set off to find the throne room.

They stuck close to the walls. The hallways were mostly empty of stormtroopers. They probably weren’t too concerned with intruders locating the base without their knowledge, but still, Ben never would’ve left one of his operations unguarded.

“What were you and Poe talking about for so long?” she spoke quietly as they moved. Her eyes were trained ahead of her, alert.

Ben ducked around her as they neared a corner. “He was complimenting me on my great work with the stormtroopers.” It was partially the truth.

“Poe? I don’t believe it and even if I did, we were out there for a long time, so it wasn’t the only thing.”

Ben sighed. “You have always been stubborn, haven’t you?”

She looked at him. “Well, I’m certainly never going to make it easy for you.” She turned back to the hallway.

“I’d be offended if you did.” he answered with a smirk.

“You’re avoiding the question, Solo.”

“Well, I’m certainly never going to make it easy for you, Skywalker.” Rey stopped dead in her tracks and faced him. Ben smiled. “Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “We share a Force bond. I knew you adopted the name as your own. It seems only right as Luke and Leia took you in.” Then he mustered up some courage. “But I think Solo would suit you much better.” He walked past her as she stared dumbfounded.

Just then, a blast shot out and hit the wall next to Ben’s head. “Rey!” he called.

But Rey was already in front of him with her saber ignited and deflecting blasts. There was a handful of stormtroopers in front of them, but not too many that they couldn’t take them. Ben advanced, wielding his saber like he had never parted from it. Rey was back to back with him as they battled. She yanked one towards Ben and he slashed him down. Another advanced on him, but Ben sliced his shoulder and took an elbow to his head. On the other side of him, Rey kicked a blaster out of one trooper’s hand and struck him with her saber. With her free hand, she reached for the small blaster holstered in her belt and shot the last two on her side while Ben deflected blasts into the remaining three in front of him.

Rey and Ben shared one look before running off in the direction of the throne room.

They came across a large circular room, shaped like a dome. There were large tinted glass doors that led into it. Ben crouched down and peered through the glass. He saw eight large, dark thrones. They were smaller than Palpatine’s but the design was similar. They appeared empty. There was something else inside on the far side of the throne room, it seemed like a tall whipping post looking thing, but Ben couldn’t make it out. He was explaining this to Rey when the com link attached to her belt crackled.

“Rey?” Poe’s voice came through. “Can you hear me?”

“I’m here,” she responded, bringing the com link up to her face.

“Finn’s not here, we’ve checked every cell.”

Ben could feel the fear and dread sink into Rey as the news settled over her. Ben squinted through the glass again. On the opposite side of the room, another set of doors opened. He tapped on Rey and motioned her to look. They watched as eight tall hooded figures dressed in black masks walked in, their dark robes flowing behind them. The last two were dragging an unconscious Finn with them. Ben heard Rey gasp sharply.

“Poe,” she said. “He’s in the throne room. Meet us here as soon as you can. Stay alert, stormtroopers are stationed randomly throughout the base.”

“Roger that.”

Rey looked at Ben. Her eyes were wide, he could tell she was scared, but he knew she was more scared for Finn than she was for them. They would keep each other alive, but they didn’t know how much time Finn had left. “Let’s go get him,” Ben said. He tugged the hood of his cloak over his head and stood. Rey followed. She did look damn good in her snug white outfit. Ben immediately cleared his mind of that. He would deal with her later.

He strode into the throne room confidently, immediately going from Ben Solo to Kylo Ren. The Knights of Sidious had perched themselves on their thrones. Through their masks, Ben couldn’t see their expressions, but he could sense their surprise in the Force. Rey stood calmly next to him as they came to a stop in front of the Knights.

Ben spoke first. “The Knights of Sidious?” he asked incredulously. “Cute name, did you come up with it yourself? Oh wait, it was mine first.”

The knight seated on the middle throne stood. “We were wondering when you’d find us, _Kylo Ren_.” His voice was low and more intimidating when speaking through the mask, but Ben was not afraid of this.

“It wasn’t hard. Your security system is the worst that I’ve ever seen, and I worked on a base full of idiots.”

“Charming one, aren’t you?” the knight said in a condescending tone. His head turned toward Rey. “Ah. The girl.” He laughed. “Tell me, Ren, how did you manage this one?” The knight trailed over to Rey and Ben could feel himself involuntarily tense, his blood already rising. If he so much as laid a hand on her, there would be consequences.

“I wouldn’t underestimate her if I were you.” Ben said.

The knight stood in front of Rey and leaned uncomfortably close to her. Rey held steady. “Oh,” he said. “I wouldn’t dream of it. She did cause quite a problem for us defeating Lord Sidious. Now, we have to take matters into our own hands. But we prepared for this.” The knight lifted a gloved hand to Rey’s cheek.

“Don’t you dare touch her,” Ben said, his voice laced with venom.

The knight laughed again. “A bit protective are we?” he said with thick sarcasm, but he dropped his hand and Ben relaxed a little. “I assume you’ve come for the boy?” The knight gestured to the other structure Ben hadn’t been able to see clearly from the doors. Now, he could. It was a tall rock pillar with a long chain reaching from the top of the pillar to the cuffs that were holding up a very injured and very unconscious Finn.

“What do you want from us?” Rey asked.

“Nothing, yet,” said the knight. “I simply needed to know you both were alive and together.” Rey didn’t look convinced. The knight motioned to another one to unchain Finn. Two of them dragged Finn over and tossed him at Rey’s feet. She fell to her knees and rolled him over, fingers moving to check for his pulse.

“What’s the catch?” Ben said stiffly.

The knight chuckled. “There is not one. I have no quarrel with you, yet.”

“Yet?”

“Yes, boy. In time, we will. Your biggest mistake tonight was coming here together. A dyad in the Force is rare, but now that we know…well, let’s just say everything is going according to plan.” With that, he bent down and lifted Rey up by her neck. Ben ignited his lightsaber in a heartbeat. “Such beauty,” the knight said. “I don’t want to have to kill her.”

“You won’t get the chance,” Ben said and in one swift motion, he drove his saber into the knight’s turned back, right through the heart. Rey fell to the ground coughing and gasping for air.

The other knights immediately stood with weapons drawn. They were similar to the ones that the guards in Snoke’s throne room used to carry.

He stood facing them, but spoke to Rey. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” came her steady reply. She stood up and ignited her saber. That’s his girl. They lifted their lightsabers at the same time in the same way. They were one. Always. And then they fought.

Ben watched as the knights advanced in slow motion. Rey instinctively backed up to him the same way they had fought together the few times prior to this. Their lightsabers were drawn. An unexpected blast coming from the entrance signaled that Poe and Rose had arrived. They ran directly to Finn and hauled him out of the room per Rey’s orders. She demanded they get out and find a way to disable the big guns that would prevent the Falcon from reaching them and keep Finn safe.

In the chaos, Ben didn’t notice one of the knights slip out to a covered corner of the room. He was focused on blocking attacks from the brutally sharp weapons aimed at him. He attacked with power, using the Force to lift a knight into the air and squeeze the life out of him. Ben justified this as not only self defense, but also protection of Rey as the knight had just been about to slice her in half while she was focused on three others.

That’s when the disgruntled rumbling of a cage opening filled the room. Rey turned and met Ben’s eyes for half a second. Her hazel eyes were wide and concerned. The knights retreated. Ben started to go after them when a large beast of a creature bounded out of the shadows. Rey yelped and sidestepped. Ben grabbed her by the waist and spun her behind him. The knights had escaped through the other doors, but one remained as the creature prowled around Rey and Ben like a predator to its prey.

“Your love has a power this galaxy hasn’t seen in ages, but it will be your undoing,” the knight said and then swept from the room. Ben didn’t have time to process that sentence as his attention shifted back to the creature. It was a lean, muscular beast with green scales and razor sharp fangs. It stalked on all fours, its talons making terrible scraping noises on the stone floor. The end of its whip-like tail was covered in sharp spikes. It glared at them with venomous red eyes.

It hesitated only a moment longer before charging. Ben moved quickly, leaping over it with the pull of the Force guiding him. He dragged the saber across the creature's back and it whimpered in pain, but was not brought down. He hadn’t cut deep enough. Rey tried to sidestep again, but this time, the creature lunged at her, talons raking across her back slicing half of her shirt clean off along with bits of torn flesh. Rey cried out in pain and turned on the creature in fury. Even a wound like that wasn’t enough to stop her. That didn’t stop Ben from becoming completely overwhelmed with rage. Together, from opposite sides of the creature, they charged it. Looking back on the scene, the dreadful beast never stood a chance. The Force was with them.

At the same time, yellow light met blue and ran straight through the creature’s side. It gave them one last hated glare at them before it crumpled to the ground.

Ben stared at it for a moment until he heard Rey mutter his name. He glanced at her and saw her back was a mess of blood and raked skin. Her eyes rolled back as her knees gave out. Ben caught her before she hit the ground. And then, he ran.

Through the com link, Poe yelled at him to meet them at the door they had entered from. The Falcon had made it through safely, but stormtroopers were approaching quickly. Ben ran as fast as his legs would take him, making sure to support Rey’s unconscious body the whole way.

When he ran out into the desert plain, the Falcon was already fired up. Poe was standing on the landing strip screaming at him to hurry. Just as the stormtroopers were in range to start firing, Chewy lifted off. In one last exert of energy, Ben leaped and bounded onto the ship.

They collapsed on the floor. Ben sat up, breathing heavily and rolled Rey over. He looked desperately to Poe and Rose who were staring in shock at Rey.

“What _happened_?” Poe asked, his tone was on the verge of panic.

Ben tried to keep his calm. “I’ll explain later, just, please, go get me some medical equipment.”

Rose came back a moment later with a small med kit. Ben ravaged through it until he found what he was looking for. He silently thanked his father for not being a total idiot. He grabbed the bottle of bacta spray and drenched Rey’s back in it. Immediately, Ben could see the red veiny lines forming around the wound start to recede. He allowed himself a breath, then went to work trying to clean up the torn and bloody skin.

Finn was already lying on the small cot, so he placed Rey down on the white bench in front of the hologame table. Poe had retired to the bridge to help Chewy pilot. Rose resigned to sit by Finn after she had checked to make sure Ben was okay and Rey was stable. BB-8 beeped with concern at Rey, but Ben assured him she’d be okay.

Finn woke by the time they reached the Resistance base. He didn’t comment on Ben’s presence, but the first thing he asked was where Rey was. Rose, Ben noticed, looked a little hurt by this, but she quickly masked it and explained that she had been injured on the mission, but she was healing fine. Ben was also a little bothered that Rey was the first thing Finn was concerned about. Poe was the one that was absolutely frantic about rescuing him. Speaking of, Rose alerted Poe that Finn was up and he bounded into the central room and tackled him with a hug. Finn returned it happily.

Ben sensed a shift in the Force around him and immediately went to Rey’s side. Her consciousness was returning. He could feel their bond light up like a fire. She stirred and then her hazel eyes fluttered open.

“Ben.”

“There’s my girl,” he answered, brushing a strand of hair off of her forehead. It was such a casual thing to say and it sounded weird coming off of Ben’s lips; he wasn’t one to really know how to be so gentle, but Rey had that effect on him. She brightened as he said it and Ben thought he would say cheesy stuff like that all the time if it meant she’d smile like that. He was, in no way, ready for pet names yet, though. Rey laughed suddenly and Ben realized he hadn’t shielded his mind from her.

“Oh, _baby,_ ” she said, emphasizing the pet name, “thank you for getting us out of there,” she finished, her voice turning more serious.

He leaned in and kissed her slowly. She didn’t move and Ben had to remind himself that she was still very injured.

“Rey?” Finn’s voice came from across the room.

Rey’s eyes lit up as Ben stepped out of her vision so she could see him. “Finn!” She tried to sit up, but grunted and collapsed back down again.

“Easy, girl,” Ben said. “There will be plenty of time for reunion once you both have at least regained the strength to stand.”

Once the Falcon touched down, Poe and Rose helped carry out Finn. Ben swooped Rey into his arms with ease and followed them out. Chewy made a series of grunts when he saw Rey and she smiled at him, taking one of his large paws in her hand. The Resistance was ready for them outside the Falcon, but when Ben stepped out, the whispers started rolling over the crowd like waves.

C-3PO pushed through. “Master Ben, how lovely to see you again.” The droid sounded sincere, but Ben was confused as to why 3PO had only greeted him.

Poe must’ve been thinking the same thing because he said, “Yeah, we’re okay, too, 3PO, thanks for asking.”

“Oh!” the droid exclaimed. “I am terribly sorry, Master Poe. It’s lovely to see you safe and well, too.”

Lando Calrissian came forward and placed a hand on C-3PO’s shoulder. “Generals,” he said to both Poe and Finn.

“How’s my base?” Poe asked.

“In great condition considering the recent news. How’d our ex First Order member hold up?” Lando said eyeing Ben suspiciously. For a moment, Ben felt a surge of nerves. Not only was this one of his father’s best friends, but also, the whole base could execute him on the spot, though he doubt they would with Rey in his arms.

Surprisingly, it was Rose that spoke up. “He did well, General. Defended all of us without hesitation and saved Rey’s life. Neither she, nor Finn, would’ve been returned without his assistance.”

Ben felt eternally grateful and shot Rose and thankful glance. She only nodded her head at him while the crowd whispered more.

Lando nodded respectfully. “Take them to the infirmary and make sure they are seen to. Ben Solo, I would like a word.”

Ben gulped and placed Rey into Chewy’s waiting arms. He kissed her forehead and then followed the general out of the murmuring crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your kudos and your comments! They are truly much appreciated. I love to know how you all are feeling about the story or to receive any constructive feedback! You all are wonderful! I feel like action scenes are always hard to write because I'm seeing it play out like a movie in my head, but can't always find the right way to word it, so I thank you for your patience.  
> Next chapter we shall be receiving some Reylo fluff!!! Stay tuned!
> 
> Cheers!  
> x


	9. I Love You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So glad you're here! I would like to formally apologize for being absent for months, the world has been a bit hectic as of recently, but here is a nice fluffy Reylo chapter for you! Small content warning: no, there's no smut, but slight sexual innuendos if ya know what I mean. We left off with an injured Rey, a rescued Finn, and a Resistance base who is still very unsure of Ben Solo. SO, with that, I'll quit blabbering and we can get back to the story, Enjoy!

### CHAPTER NINE

#### REY

Rey woke to the gentle tug in her mind on the other end of the Force— _Ben’s_ end. She felt herself smile before she had even opened her eyes.

“Ah,” he said. “Thought that might wake you.”

Rey opened her eyes. She was shocked to find that she was in a nice, furnished room. Sunlight was peeking through the window drapes showering Ben in gold. He sat next to her in a plush velvet dark red chair. She was lying in a fluffy bed, soft pillows supporting her head. A thick, dark red blanket tucked her into it. Across the room sat a similar plush sofa. Large windows were spread on the far side of the wall, half covered by the blinds. Outside, the sun was setting, but Rey could hear water lapping onto the shore and see sunlight glittering off the waves. Rolling hills tumbled along in the distance. “Ben,” she said cautiously. He was grinning. He looked freshly showered, his dark hair brushed back off of his face, just dusting his shoulders. He was dressed in a white shirt. That’s probably what shocked Rey the most. He looked tanned, his deep brown eyes shinning in the evening light. “Where are we?”

“Naboo.”

“ _What?_ ” Rey forced herself to sit up, her back stung as she did so. She tried to hide the wince she made, but Ben’s smile fell. All she wanted to do was curl up with him in the softness of this bed, but she was concerned. How _the hell_ were they on Naboo?

“We left yesterday, once Nyla made sure you were safe to travel. You’ve been unconscious for two days. Apparently, you passed out again while Chewy took you to the infirmary. Let me take a look at your wound, Rey.”

She didn’t move. “We just left the Resistance? What about Finn?”

“Finn is fine. We left per General Lando’s orders. It still wasn’t safe for me to remain there for long. The Resistance hasn’t decided what to do with me yet, though, the mission to rescue Finn seems like it’s working in my favor. At least that’s what Lando said.” He moved to sit next to her on the bed. “Now, let me see your wounds, Rey.” His voice had dropped an octave and Rey shivered. She then realized she was wearing virtually nothing. Just her white pants and a bandage that wrapped around her chest and back. She felt the heat rush to her cheeks and turned around as if to hide it from Ben, but she could tell he was smirking at her.

Gently, he started to unwrap the bandage covering the wounds on her back. She resisted the urge to elbow him off the bed. She had never been shirtless in front of anyone before and she really didn’t plan on it being because she was injured. Ben sensed her unease because before he finished unwrapping the bandage, he peeled off his shirt and pulled it over her head. She craned her neck to thank him, but suddenly she couldn’t speak. Ben was all smooth and muscled. His chest and abs chiseled out from extensive training and combat. Any thought she had faded from her mind as she stared at him, eyes roaming the width and length of him. She wanted to trace every inch of him with her hands and then, possibly, with her lips.

“ _Rey_ ,” he said, his tone light but firm jolted her back to reality and she turned back around for him. He lifted the back of the shirt up and finished unwrapping. He didn’t speak just inhaled sharply.

“How bad is it?” she asked, though she already knew the answer.

“Not terrible. The bacta spray took care of the infection, so that’s a good sign. You’re healing slowly, though. Maybe if I…” his voice trailed off and he placed a hand over her wound, but Rey panicked and pushed away from him.

“No, Ben. Not like that.”

“Rey,” he started slowly, “I was just going to use a little Force of my own.”

“And it almost killed you last time. Just please, Ben. Let it heal naturally. It _will_ heal. And if it doesn’t start to get better, I’ll let you use the Force, okay?”

Ben nodded and wrapped the bandage back around the wound. Then, he moved closer to her. His shirt was way too big on her. It fell off of one shoulder and before she could allow herself to blush at his advancement, his lips moved slowly along her shoulder. He left a trail of kisses along her collarbone and up her neck. He kissed along the curve of her jaw until his lips found hers. Her heart rate had shot up to a probably very dangerous speed as he did so. She kissed him back, hands roaming over the hard packed muscles of his chest, shoulders, and back until they tangled in his hair. Swiftly, mustering up some courage, she pressed herself into him with enough force that he fell on his back with her on top of him. Her lips didn’t break from his. His hands fit to curve of her waist, sliding along her sides. It was more passionate than any of their kisses before, even on Geonosis when things probably would’ve escalated if it had not been for their circumstances. Now, nothing was standing in their way.

Ben flipped her over and, though he did it gently, she still winced when her wound pressed against the sheets. He pulled back a moment and looked at her, the question of whether or not she was okay lingered in his gaze. She responded by wrapping a hand around his neck and drawing his lips back down to hers. No pain could have ever distracted her from the way she felt with Ben in that moment. He was trailing kisses down her chest when the sound of a ship landing outside brought him to a stop.

“Who is that?” Rey asked.

Ben made a low, annoyed groan as he rolled off of her. “Your friends have arrived.”

Though Rey was slightly annoyed she and Ben had been interrupted again, she couldn’t help but smile at the prospect of her friends coming to see her. She could use a hug from Chewy right about now. Ben walked over to a small brown dresser on the other side of the bed, next to the door. He pulled out a black shirt and tugged it over his head. _Back in his natural color,_ Rey thought with a small grin. She walked over to him, standing on her tiptoes and taking his cheek in her hand, she kissed him lightly. Automatically, Ben’s arms went around her. It was a sweet kiss, lingering just enough to make Rey’s stomach flutter. He was practically glowing when she pulled away. The simple moments with him were her absolute favorite moments, she decided. Then, barefoot, she ran out to greet her friends.

Rey was not expecting to see Finn, but he was the first one off of the landing strip as he ran full speed towards her. She ran to meet him and he wrapped his arms around her, picking her up in a huge bear hug. Rey felt a pang of tension shift through the Force and knew immediately that Ben wasn’t overly thrilled to have seen that. She glanced over her shoulder to see him standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. She ignored that for now because Finn, her best friend, was here and alive. Alive, but covered in bruises and bandages.

“What are you doing here?” she asked pulling away.

He fingered the bandage that stretched from his hairline to the top of his left brow. “I, uh, was well enough to travel,” he replied with a smirk.

Rey narrowed her eyes. “Nyla doesn’t know you left, does she?”

Finn shrugged. “She probably does now.”

Chewy made a loud, guttural noise that could only be understood as laughter as he came down off the ship to meet them. Rey gave the giant fur ball a hug and then looked for the others. Poe and Rose came out of the Falcon next arguing over something.

“What’s going on?” Rey asked.

“Poe messed with the compressor again,” Rose said. BB-8 beeped in annoyance as he rolled over.

Rey frowned at Poe. “What did you do to the compressor?”

Poe rolled his eyes. “I didn’t do anything to the compressor.”

“Well, you had to have done something if the compressor is malfunctioning. You didn’t lightspeed skip again, did you?”

“Does the Falcon look like she’s on fire?” Poe answered snarkily. “I just tried to jump start it a little bit and it kind of imploded.”

“POE!”

“It’s fine,” he said, raising his hands in a “calm down” sort of manner. “Chewy says he can fix it.”

It was Rey’s turn to roll her eyes. “Yes, because Chewy actually knows how to _take care_ of the Falcon.”

Chewy growled in response and he and Poe headed back toward the ship. There was a loud clanking noise as C-3PO ran into Chewy and tumbled off the landing strip. Rey glanced at Finn and hissed, “you brought 3PO?”

“Lando’s orders.”

C-3PO hobbled up to greet them. “Master Rey,” he said inclining his head. “Truly a pleasure to see you up and about again! Isn’t it, Master Ben?” he called to where Ben was standing.

Ben smirked. “I was happy with her in the bed, but yes, it’s lovely to see she’s okay.” Finn nearly choked and Rey glared at Ben hard enough that he unfurled his arms and left his post by the door. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head.

She was still glaring at him when they all headed inside for dinner.

“Any news on the Knights?” Rey asked when they were settled at the long table on one of the balcony’s of Ben’s grandmother’s old home. Rose had made a vegetable soup from Padme’s garden. Rey supposed the housekeepers had kept up with the home and garden even after all these years. Similar to the caretakers on Ahch-To.

“Not much more than what we did,” Poe responded.

Rose spoke up, “But, Lando thinks they’re looking for a powerful old Sith relic.”

“What kind of relic?” Ben questioned.

“It’s an object similar to the Sith wayfinder except it can only be powered by a dyad in the Force. They call it the Shadow Ark.”

Rey locked eyes with Ben. “Well, that’s convenient.”

He nodded darkly. “It definitely explains all their confusing threats about us being together.”

“What do they plan do with it?” Rey asked, shifting her attention back to Poe.

“We don’t know yet. There aren’t really old Sith books like there are Jedi,” he replied, shoving a spoonful of fresh soup into his mouth.

“Actually,” 3PO spoke up and Poe groaned. “There might be.”

Rey looked at the droid standing a little ways off from the table. “How do you figure, 3PO?”

“According to my calculations,” he said and Poe groaned again, “there’s about a ninety-nine percent chance that the Siths also had a Sith Temple that resembled the Jedi temple.”

Finn, who had been unusually quiet, spoke up, “That would make sense. If you’re going to train evil, dark side, Sith children, you’d probably need a temple full of sacred evil, dark side, Sith texts.”

Rey thought for a moment. “Okay, fair, but where would we find the Sith temple? You needed a wayfinder to even find their home planet, their sacred temple will not be easy to locate.”

3PO answered again, “It is most likely that the temple is either on Exegol or the old deserted Sith planet: Korriban.”

Rey felt sick. The last thing she wanted to do was go back to Exegol and try and find information about a Sith relic that was meant to destroy she and Ben. _Breathe,_ Ben spoke into her mind, and Rey immediately felt the tension ease from her chest.

“I propose we go in teams,” said Finn and Rey shot him a grateful glance because she knew he was about to save her from going back to the place she died and then almost lost Ben. “Poe, Chewy, and I will go to Exegol and scout for the books there. Rey, Ben, and Rose will go to Korriban and look for the books there. We meet back here in two Naboo days time.”

“What if one of us gets into trouble?” Ben asked.

“Concerned you can’t keep Rey safe?” Finn taunted. A flare of rage shot through the Force and Ben stood up so fast, his chair fell backwards. Rey immediately grabbed his hand.

“Boys!” she demanded. “We have more important issues at hand right now than you two trying to figure out who’s dick is bigger, now, _play nice._ ” Rey finished incredulously. Ben did as he was told and picked up his chair, sitting back down.

He was still fuming, but Rose redirected the conversation. “Here, I invented these wrist com links for everyone a while back. They’re still prototypes, but they’ll work well enough.” She reached into her bag and pulled out five wrist bands. “Press the button in the middle and it will alert everyone to your location, same goes for if they get deactivated, so if they get crushed in any way, someone will know to come find you. If one of us gets into trouble, the other team will come for them.”

“Brillant, Rose!” Rey said excitedly. “Absolutely brilliant.” Rose was beaming.

“Okay,” Poe said with finality, “We leave in the morning. For now, pack what you need and get a good night’s rest. We’re all gonna need it.”

With that, everyone started to stand and head to their own rooms, stars know the house was big enough for all of them. Soon, only Rey and Ben were left at the table. He was sitting silently, staring at his hands folded in his lap. Rey could sense his unease, but Ben had shielded his thoughts. She made her way over to the back of his chair and slid her arms over his shoulders and around his neck. She planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

“Ben, he’s just trying to get under your skin. You know you can protect me just fine, and to be honest, I can take care of myself,” Rey spoke quietly.

Ben sighed heavily. “He’s right, though, this relic, or whatever, is deliberately made to destroy us, even if we don’t know why they want to, we at least know that. You _died_ on Exegol, Rey, and your back is terribly injured because I couldn’t protect you in the throne room. What if something worse happens on Korriban?”

Rey shifted around his chair and planted herself in his lap. His arms immediately went around her. She put her hands on either side of his face. “You can’t save everyone, Ben. But that’s besides the point. We’re both risking our lives here. I worried for years about saving you and you pulled through. We always do. I brought you to the light, you saved my life. I got injured, you took care of me. Because that’s what you and I do. We save each other. And we’ll keep saving each other. But I’m stronger than I look, and I know you know that. So why don’t we focus on the mission, and after we clean this table…” she pressed her lips to his, “you join me in bed?” She slid off him, winked, and then started to pick up the bowls from the table.

There was a moment of silence and then, “ _I love you_.” He said it so suddenly and with so much emotion that Rey stopped what she was doing and simply stared at him.

“What?” was all she could muster.

Ben stood up and closed the distance between them. He held her stare while he took the stacked bowls from her hand and placed them back on the table. “I am in love with you, Rey.”

And that was enough for Rey to grab the front of his shirt and bring his lips crashing into hers. She knew he loved her, but they hadn’t said it to each other, and there was something different about it when she heard him speak it. Something inside of her came to life, like the heat that radiated off her lightsaber. Her heart beat rapidly, her skin was burning from the intensity of their kiss, and then suddenly, he scooped her up in his arms so her legs were straddling his waist, and he backed her up against the nearest wall.

Ben was everything smooth and strong, and utterly intoxicating. His lips moved feverishly against her lips and down her neck. He sucked gently on the spot where her pulse beat and she let out a small moan that only encouraged his movements.

And then he was moving her, off the wall and towards their room, the bowls all but forgotten on the table. With a swish of his hand, he flung the door open and then shut behind them, and dropped her on the bed with him on top of her. She ignored the sharp pain from her wound that shot up her back as he did so and slid her hands under the hem of his shirt and tugged on it. He pulled back and looked at her. His eyes wild and alive, shining bright like stars. “Take this off,” she muttered. Ben obeyed, and pulled his shirt over his head. Again, Rey felt her breath catch in her throat as she eyed his shirtless form, all muscles and smooth skin.

“Your turn?” He questioned. She grinned and sat up lifting her arms up. Ben hesitated for just a moment, like he couldn’t believe she was letting him take her shirt off, and honestly, she couldn’t really believe it either. Then his fingers wrapped around the edge of the shirt and he pulled it over her head. Gently, he undid the bandage wrapped around her chest.

And then, he just stared.

Rey had half an urge to cover herself, but the longing in Ben’s eyes kept her from doing so.

“You’re so beautiful,” he muttered. She felt her cheeks flush, but she took his hands and put them on her bare stomach, bringing her lips back to his.

Eventually, his loose, black pants and her tan ones were a heap on the floor. They were a mess of tangled limbs, knotted sheets, soft moans, fistfuls of pillows, and whispered “I love you’s.”

When their breathing had slowed, Rey curled up next to him. Moonlight pooled in from the windows drenching them in silver. He drew little circles on her bare back, avoiding the wounded areas, and Rey shivered.

Finally she spoke. “The galaxy always seems to be under some big, evil threat, but I’ve realized that even though nothing else is okay right now, we are.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of her forehead. “I love you.” He replied.

“I love you,” she answered, but Ben’s breathing had slowed, and when she tilted her head up to look at him, his eyes were closed. He was already fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, the Shadow Ark is not canon, but I wanted to create something new because I'm a bit tired of planet destroying weapons. So stay tuned if you're interested in what it does and why it needs our two favorite Jedi lovers to work. I promise it won't be four months before I update again hehe. If you're still here, I love you. Now, let's go find a Sith temple or something!  
> Thanks again for all your love.
> 
> Cheers!  
> x


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